Subcellular mechano-microscopy: high resolution three-dimensional elasticity mapping using optical coherence microscopy.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

The importance of cellular-scale mechanical properties is well-established, yet it is challenging to map subcellular elasticity in three dimensions. We present subcellular mechano-microscopy, an optical coherence microscopy (OCM)-based variant of three-dimensional (3-D) compression optical coherence elastography (OCE) that provides an elasticity system resolution of 5 × 5 × 5 µm: a 7-fold improvement in system resolution over previous OCE studies of cells. The improved resolution is achieved through a ∼5-fold improvement in optical resolution, refinement of the strain estimation algorithm, and demonstration that mechanical deformation of subcellular features provides feature resolution far greater than that demonstrated previously on larger features with diameter >250 µm. We use mechano-microscopy to image adipose-derived stem cells encapsulated in gelatin methacryloyl. We compare our results with compression OCE and demonstrate that mechano-microscopy can provide contrast from subcellular features not visible using OCE.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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